Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Abp. Anastasios on "Theotokos Spirituality"

Theotokos simply means Mother of God or God-bearer. This is Mary, Christ’s mother. Think of her! She became the first and best disciple and sets the perfect example for anyone who is trying to follow her Divine Son. There are three main elements in her witness. She said to the archangel, ‘Be it done to me according to your word.’ God's will, not my own! She gives us this example and through it Christ enters our lives. She also said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord.’ We are asked to centre our lives on the Lord, not ourselves. And she says, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ We learn from her another type of freedom, the freedom to be free of your own plans. We realize he becomes present in our lives, as he became present in hers, through obedience. It is the obedience of love, a gift of the Holy Spirit. In her silence, in her capacity quietly to consider events in her heart, we also learn much about prayer as face-to-face conversation with God in silence. Contemplating the Mother of God is a great help and is itself a form of prayer.

His Beatitude Anastasios (Yannoulatos)
Archbishop of Tirana, Durrrës, and All Albania

from The Resurrection of the Church in Albania: Voices of Orthodox Christians, by Jim Forest

1 comment:

There is a new documentary being produced you might find interesting called "Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer." I thought maybe you could post something about the film on your website. The film is about the secret practices of monks and nun across the world.

Marian Devotion

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Definition of the Union of the Divine and Human Natures in the Person of Christ

Council of Chalcedon, AD 451

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance (homoousios) with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer (Theotokos); one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the Fathers has handed down to us.